Is Cannabis the New Kale?

In the Bay Area, chef Gabriel Reeves is working hard to make it so, envisioning a whole line of cannabis food products, and teaching classes on how to use it in cooking.

Reeves’ class is taught at Elemental Wellness, a medical marijuana collective and health center in San Jose, California. Students sign up because they want to learn the details of infusing, mixing and baking with cannabis. And while Reeves is very supportive of the medicinal benefits of marijuana – he’s a survivor of testicular cancer – he’s also excited about the culinary aspects.

As he told San Francisco Magazine, “We’re going to be able to pair this extremely unique botanical herb with every base flavor we’re already familiar with. There’s shortbread and mashed potatoes, but what about Blue Dream shortbread or garlic herb Lemon Skunk mashed potatoes?”

So does this culinary cannabis revolution means we’ll soon find marjiuana chia cookies at your local Whole Foods? Probably not. While edible marijuana is legal as medicine under the California law, it’s still illegal under Federal policies. This means national distribution of marijuana-infused products is impossible, for now.

While Reeves knows that the legal sale of edible marijuana goods in grocery stores is a long way off, he’s focusing his efforts on the food side of things, cause if cannabis really is going to get up in the ranks of kale and quinoa, people need to see it in a different way. “Anything that moves us away from the stereotype of a big smoking joint is a move in the right direction,” said Reeves to San Francisco Magazine.

Reeves isn’t the only one to be diving into the world of culinary cannabis. Grassroots University offers professional cannabis baking courses (you can learn how to infuse butter for only $100), if you’re looking to expand your repertoire there’s a cookbook devoted to marijuana-friendly recipes, The Official High Times Cannabis Cookbook, and in Denver, Colorado where new laws have made the consumption of marijuana much easier, you can visit Ganja Gourmet, a full medical marijuana restaurant.

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